Quick Links

MUSO Frequently Asked Questions

Why don't I have access to a Blackboard site that I am teaching?
How do I use Blackboard?
Where has MUSO gone? What is Blackboard?
Why does the Browser Check window open every time I log into Blackboard?
How do I open .docx or .xlsx files? What are these files?
Changing an assignment gives a warning message

Why don't I have access to a Blackboard site that I am teaching?

Accessing Blackboard is not an automatic process for staff. If you are not added to any Blackboard sites you will not be able to login to Blackboard.

You will need to request that the unit leader adds you to the Blackboard site, or you can request that we add you to a Blackboard site by filling in this form

Note:We can only add you to a site if it already exists. Each semester you will need to request a new Blackboard site unless your faculty tells you otherwise.

You can request a site creation by filling in this form

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How do I use Blackboard?

Blackboard training is run by the Staff Development Unit. Staff Development offers high quality training services designed to meet your needs.

You can find more information on Staff training from the following page:

http://www.adm.monash.edu.au/staff-development/ws/it/muso/bb/index.html (opens in new window)

MUSO Support also provides quick guides on most of the tools available in Blackboard. The quick guides are designed to supplement Blackboard training and are a useful quick reference. You can access the quick guides from the following page:

http://www.monash.edu.au/muso/support/staff/blackboard/guides/index.html

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Where has MUSO gone? What is Blackboard?

Between Wednesday 21 and Monday 26 November 2007 MUSO was shut down to allow for the upgrade to Blackboard.

MUSO previously referred to the Learning Management System WebCT Vista 3.
WebCT Vista 3 has been upgraded to the latest version, Blackboard (Vista 4).
MUSO now refers to a collection of online learning tools, including Blackboard and Interlearn.
Blackboard is now one of the tools under Monash University Studies Online
Users will no longer be albe to login through http://muso.monash.edu.au.
- There will be a single sign on point for all learning systems through the my.monash portal (http://my.monash.edu.au).
- Users attempting to login through http://muso.monash.edu.au will be automatically re-directed to the correct login page.
- Users will no longer need to seperately log-in to the my.monash portal and MUSO.

Put simply, what you used to call MUSO is now called Blackboard.

To learn more about the changes to MUSO click here

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Why does the Browser Check window open every time I log into Blackboard?

The computers located on campus should be set up correctly. If you are receiving Browser errors please contact MUSO Support. Most errors we can assist you to fix however you may be required to contact your faculty IT to fix some problems.

To use Blackboard at home, you will need to ensure that you are using a compatible browser, and that you have Java installed on your computer. You can find setup instructions on the following page:

http://www.monash.edu.au/muso/support/staff/browserset.html

The Browser Troubleshooting page will check your browser for you and provides instructions on how to fix most browser issues yourself.

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How do I open .docx or .xlsx files? What are these files?

Office 2007 uses a new default file format which is not compatible with previous versions of Office. The extensions of the files look the same as the previous versions however they all have an 'x' at the end (e.g. '.doc' is now '.docx', '.xls' is now '.xlsx', etc)

If you are using a version of Office earlier than 2007 (or earlier than Office 2008 for Mac users) you can download the Office 2007 Compatibility Pack (opens in a new window). After installing the Compatibility pack you should be able to open the Office 2007 files in the same way that you would open any other Office file.

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Changing an assignment gives a warning message

When you attempt to change an assignment, which has already created, the following warning message is received.

'This assignment may already have submissions. Your changes will overwrite the original assignment. To avoid this, click cancel and create a new assignment.'

The message is means that students may have already made submissions to the assignment. The proposed changes will overwrite the original assignment set by the lecturer and any submission to the original assignment will now be associated with the new assignment. If this is a problem, an alternative course of action would be to create a new assignment.

In Blackboard, an 'assignment' is a task set by the lecturer, and a 'submission' is the student’s response.

If you are having problems please do not hesitate to contact MUSO Support.